{"id":1194,"date":"2026-05-30T10:03:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T10:03:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2026-05-30T10:03:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T10:03:44","slug":"arizona-sees-largest-decline-in-snap-participants-nationwide-following-federal-changes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1194","title":{"rendered":"Arizona sees largest decline in SNAP participants nationwide following federal changes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – Around half of the families who received SNAP benefits last year no longer receive those benefits, according to numbers released by the Arizona Department of Economic Security.<\/p>\n

Read more PACC tracking more than 50 hoarding properties across Pima County<\/a><\/p>\n

The drop represents the biggest decline in the country and means hundreds of thousands of people are now struggling to put food on the table.<\/p>\n

Ricky Holbert, a former SNAP recipient and single father of three, has gone months without benefits despite numerous applications, emails, and phone calls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking and then trying to put food in the house and not having the extra benefits that help, it\u2019s a very stressful, tight situation,\u201d Holbert said.<\/p>\n

According to reports from the Arizona Department of Economic Security, more than 235,000 families received SNAP benefits in April. That number dropped from more than 455,000 families last July.<\/p>\n

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who was in Marana Thursday for an event for ranchers and farmers,<\/b><\/u><\/i> said the decline was the goal following changes to the program by the Trump administration last summer, including requiring able-bodied adults without dependents to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou show up with an electric bill and you basically immediately start getting food stamps. That\u2019s not fair to the hard-working men and women standing behind me who pay taxes, to all of the taxpayers, and quite frankly it\u2019s not fair to the families who really need these programs who are maybe being elbowed out or not eligible because of all of the fraud that\u2019s there,\u201d Rollins said.<\/p>\n

Since the changes, Rollins said the department has caught fraud within the program.<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Where do I go now?\u2019 Arizona survivor fears loss of address protection<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c200,000 dead people getting assistance; we found 500,000 people getting more than one benefit when they should only get one, we\u2019ve made almost 1,000 arrests,\u201d Rollins said.<\/p>\n

Holbert said he has a job and children and still finds his application getting denied.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I do renew it, they say I don\u2019t put enough information in – like my employment status \u2013 which I have been with my company for five years and they know, and how many people live in my house, like you guys should know all that. I have three kids, and it\u2019s just me,\u201d Holbert said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re penalizing people that are struggling,\u201d Holbert said.<\/p>\n

Pima County officials have acknowledged how many of their residents are going without benefits and have come up with a SNAP action plan<\/b><\/i> with the Pima County Health Department aimed at supporting residents in maintaining their benefits.<\/p>\n

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Read more Rep. Grijalva backs bill that would stop veterans from being deported<\/a><\/p>\n

You can submit your breaking news or weather images here.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around half of the Arizona families who received SNAP benefits last year no longer receive those benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nArizona sees largest decline in SNAP participants nationwide following federal changes - Tucson Moving Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=1194\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Arizona sees largest decline in SNAP participants nationwide following federal changes - 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